Determinationofconsistencyofstandardcementpaste

Overview
Standard consistency of a cement paste is defined as that consistency
which will permit a vicat plunger having 10 mm dia and 50 mm length to
penetrate to a depth of 33-35 mm from top of the mould.

Apparatus
MeasuringInstruments
Name

Range

Accuracy

Vicat

IS:5513

apparatus
Balance

1000 g

1g

Measuring

100 ml

1 ml

cylinder

Otheraccessories
Tray, glass plate

Environmentalcondition
Temperature

27 20 C

Humidity

65 5 %

Procedure
1. Take 400 g of cement and place it in the enameled tray.
2. Mix about 25% water by weight of dry cement thoroughly to get a
cement paste. Total time taken to obtain thoroughly mixed water cement
paste i.e. Gauging time should not be more than 3 to 5 minutes.
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3. Fill the vicat mould, resting upon a glass plate, with this cement paste.
4. After filling the mould completely, smoothen the surface of the paste,
making it level with top of the mould.
5. Place the whole assembly(i.e. mould + cement paste + glass plate) under
the rod bearing plunger.
6. Lower the plunger gently so as to touch the surface of the test block and
quickly release the plunger allowing it to sink into the paste.
7. Measure the depth of penetration and record it.
8. Prepare trial pastes with varying percentages of water content and follow
the steps (2 to 7) as described above, until the depth of penetration
becomes 33 to 35 mm.

Calculation
Calculate percentage of water (P) by weight of dry cement required to prepare
cement paste of standard consistency by following formula, and express it to the
first place of decimal.
100
Where,
W=Quantity of water added
C=Quantity of cement used

Technicaldiscussion
# This test helps to determine water content for other tests like initial and
final setting time, soundness & compressive strength.

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Name of test

Amount

of

water

required
Soundness

0.78 P

(Le-chatelier
method)
Setting time
Compressive
strength

0.85 P
3.0 % of combined
mass of cement and sand.

# Consistency refers to the relative mobility of a freshly mixed cement

paste or mortar or its ability to flow. For a mortar the standard
consistency is measured by flow table test.
# Generally the normal consistency for OPC ranges from 26 to 33%.

Precaution
) Gauging time should be strictly observed
) Room temperature should be well maintained as per test requirement.
) All apparatus used should be clean.
) The experiment should be performed away from vibrations and other
disturbances.

Teststandardreference
IS:4031(Part 4):1988-Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement
(Determination of consistency of standard cement paste)

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